1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner, and particularly to a front opening and closing panel provided in an openable and closable manner at a front surface of a main body of the indoor unit.
2. Background Art
A conventional indoor unit of an air conditioner includes a front opening and closing panel as a design surface which is openable and closable. An air inlet to suction indoor air, etc. is not formed in the front opening and closing panel. The front opening and closing panel in the form of approximately rectangular shaped plate is fixed to a housing of the indoor unit. Arms for connecting the front opening and closing panel with the housing of the indoor unit in an openable and closable manner, and lugs for retaining a closed state of the front opening and closing panel against the housing of the indoor unit when the front opening and closing panel is closed are integrally formed with the front opening and closing panel on a rear surface of the front opening and closing panel.
The indoor unit of the air conditioner is generally lengthwise rectangular in a front view. The front opening and closing panel has approximately the same shape as the indoor unit of the air conditioner in a front view.
The arms for connecting the front opening and closing panel with the housing of the indoor unit in an openable and closable manner, and the lugs for retaining a closed state of the front opening and closing panel against the housing of the indoor unit when the front opening and closing panel is closed are generally provided in the vicinity of both right and left ends of the rear surface of the front opening and closing panel. The arms are provided in an upper part in the vicinity of both right and left ends of the rear surface of the front opening and closing panel, and the lugs are provided in a lower part in the vicinity of both right and left ends of the rear surface of the front opening and closing panel.
Patent literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-166749
Description of the Related Art
Since a conventional indoor unit of an air conditioner is configured as mentioned above, there is a problem that “sinks” are formed in a design surface (the surface that is exposed in a room when the front opening and closing panel is closed) of the front opening and closing panel.
“Sink” is a hollow in a surface of a resin molding product. This is formed mainly due to an inappropriately designed metallic die. It is a phenomenon that a hollow is formed in a surface due to shrinkage of a resin when thickness of a resin molding product is uneven, or when a thick rib or a thick boss exists on the under side of the resin molding product. Sinks are likely to occur in a part apart from a resin inlet of the metal die since the fill pressure of the resin is low.
The arms for connecting the front opening and closing panel with the housing of the indoor unit in an openable and closable manner correspond to the thick bosses. Further, since the arms are provided in the vicinity of both right and left ends of the rear surface of the front opening and closing panel, they are apart from the resin inlet of the metal die formed in the vicinity of a center of the front opening and closing panel. Therefore, sinks are likely to occur in the design surface in the vicinity of the arms.